Ethiopia Launches Sustainable Intervention for Green Cities

Addis Ababa February 22/2017 Ethiopia and the United Nations development program (UNDP) have launched an intervention that will enhance the linkage between urban waste management and greening six cities across the country.

The project will be implemented in six municipalities namely Adama, Bishoftu, Bahir Dar, Dire Dawa, Hawassa and Mekele.

The urban climate change mitigation program, known as Creating Opportunity for Municipalities to Produce and Operationalize Solid Waste Transformation (COMPOST), has received close to 7 million USD from the Global Environment Facility and UNDP.

According to data, urban dwellers make up 18 percent of the population and migration into cities is expected to continue leading to more burden in energy demands.

These demands for energy in urban areas in the past led to forest and land degradation.

The five-year program will support Ethiopia’s ambitions in building carbon neutral economy.

COMPOST will also help create new jobs, particularly for youth and women as well as SMEs and the private sector in general to work in recycling and an expanding sustainable compost market to support urban agriculture as well as urban forests.